Monday, May 30, 2011

Day 6

Day 6 Eve to arrival into Darwin

Yesterday we woke a little later than previous mornings due to that fact we are sleeping longer and deeper…..yipee! First activity for the day is 7 laps around the promenade deck. If you can remember the book or movie Midnight Express where the main character is in a Turkish Prison and all the inmates are walking around a centre point and he makes a decision to walk in the opposite direction. Then this is the impression I had this morning, a sea of walkers, all moving anti-clockwise around the deck. I am sure there were at least a quarter of the ship's passengers getting their daily exercise at the same time. The previous day a lady pushed her husband in his wheelchair, along this deck as everyone walked in the recommended direction. It was lovely seeing their happy faces as they took in the fresh sea air. We had passed them twice before we finished our laps. We had guessed nobody had the heart to let them know they were going the opposite direction!

In the afternoon we sailed past the two Tuesday Islands, Wednesday Island and Thursday Island. Whilst we listened to a commentary relating to this group of islands, we stood on the deck and watched as the ship passed. Then a broadcast came over to say an electrician living on Thursday Island rang the ship and said his parents, whom he hadn't seen for two years, were on board and he would try to make himself visible to them as the ship passed. Well, I become teary when a little fishing boat comes tearing out from the island, white water splashing up over the bow as it is obvious that the engines must have been powering on full. This little boat manages to stay about 200 meters portside of the ship for about 30mins as the Dawn Princess passes the group of islands. How lovely for Mum and Dad. This of course, made me think of my DS and DSD and DSS and in-law children….and GChildren, this is why I became teary.

Today started fairly well. All the Cruise Critic passengers were given a special treat, however we were asked not to disclose the details. As a consequence Paul and I missed out on our morning walk, however we made up for it after lunch. Whilst I played the afternoon quiz, Paul headed off to have a body massage which he greatly enjoyed.

Tomorrow the ship docks in Darwin.  

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Day 4

Day 4, 28th May 2011

We spent a hectic first day at sea, trying to set a pattern for our life on board the ship. We had a broken first night's sleep on board which I put down to the excitement, unfamiliar bed and surroundings. I know that I didn't manage to have much sleep the last couple of nights before leaving home, which I put down to anticipation and organising home, dog and financial affairs, and our last minute farewells and packing.   However I expected a better night's sleep the second night, which was not to be, but last night has broken the trend as we have both calmed down and sleep has finally come to us.

So far our days are starting with a 7 lap of the deck walk followed by breakfast and the day's programs. Our intentions are to increase our laps every few days and work out in the gym though at the moment it is hard to find any piece of equipment in the gym which isn't being used when we walk in there. We have discovered and intend to sit in on his talks, an economics lecturer, Colin White, who is giving a series of lectures on the World's Economy whilst we are sailing to Dubai.  He is giving us a very interesting insight on how the countries around the world are structuring their policies.

Talk about remembering names……..we have met so many lovely people, chattered with them and built up a repour and can I remember all of their names? I think I have about half of their names locked in the memory but the others will just have to repeat their names. I bet they are thinking the same.

Last night the ship had the first of 17 formal nights. This occasion also had the Captain's 'Welcome aboard Party' and Champagne Waterfall. With that is 'free' champagne!  Paul had an upset over his soda and bitters he usually gets with his 'soda card'. The waiters keep coming back to him to say that they couldn't give him his favourite drink on the card as bitters was alcohol and the 3-4 drops would constitute the drink as an alcohol beverage and he would need to pay for it separately. On previous cruises this had not been an issue and it took a trip to the Purser's Desk to qualify the change. They rang us next morning to inform us that the food and beverage manager would allow the drink to be added to the soda steam package. I now have one happy husband…..he was distraught thinking he would be drinking water for virtually the whole cruise.   

Today we are sailing at 19.7 knots, just off the coast from Townsville and north to Cooktown. The seas are slight, there are a couple of cotton ball clouds scattered around in the blue sky and the temp is 24C. People are scattered on the various decks, lying on lazy boys, reading their books or electronic books, or listening to their iPods.

The Capt.  announced yesterday one of the 4 engines had broken down and a technician will be boarding the ship in Darwin to (hopefully) rectify the problem.

There has been a line up outside the Tour Office with people hoping to book on the ship's tours. Most of them are already booked out. The trip to the Taj Mahal had been booked out months before sailing but I have also noted a lot of other tours were booked out as well. There is one lucky couple who have managed to get on the Paris/ Seine tour thanks to my oversight of booking the tour twice on the cruise personaliser. I handed back the extra tickets yesterday and today I intend to check our statement to see if the cost has been refunded.

Paul has joined the World Cruise Choir. There are two other couples from Adelaide who have encouraged him to join with them in this activity. I listened to them practice today but will use this spare time to do something else.  We played the Afternoon Quiz today but gave Bingo a miss. Last night watched the Showtime performance of 'Rock This Town', the previous night we saw the comedian Dave Burke who I thought, was quite funny and not crude.

So far today I have walked 5kms on the pedometer. 

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Day 2

Day two: somewhere between Newcastle and Byron Bay.

We started our 'holiday of a lifetime', by boarding a Qantas flight to Sydney. Did we think Row 13 would be unlucky?…..somehow we ended up with a free glass of Tasmanian Sparkling to drink on the flight. The cabin stewards asked why we appeared so happy and our response to them was that we were going on a world cruise. This ensured a conversation about cruising and overseas travel and an offer to celebrate our happiness with a complimentary glass of 'bubbles'.

Upon arrival at the Sydney Cruise Terminal we were processed fairly quickly through and onto the ship. Whereas some passengers after us had a 2½ hours delay due to strong winds knocking out the relay system for the Australia Immigration Computer. Scheduled departure was 4pm but the ship didn't sail until after 6.30pm due to a delay in taking on fuel for the voyage. Hmm… the ship sailed under the Harbour Bridge, past the Opera House and through the Heads in darkness and rain. Once we hit the open waters of the Pacific the ship had a little bit of rocking and rolling till the early hours of the morning.   There were white caps on the sea when we woke but the ship was fairly stable.

We walked 3 laps of the decks first thing but decided to curtail our exercise to attend the Cruise Critic 9 am meeting. We did promise ourselves to continue again this afternoon but various activities have kept us away. Complimentary Gaming Lessons on Black Jack, 3card Poker and Roulette, Bingo playing and Veterans Get-together took a presidence over a lecture on The Haves and Have nots: Economic Inequalities in countries from Sydney to Dubai, Line Dance Class, Ceramics, Table Tennis Challenge, Beginners bridge Lesson, Secrets to a Flatter Stomach Seminar, Quiz Challenge, Lecture on Capt. Cook, Beginners Ballroom Dance Class, Golf Putting Challenge, movie 'Toy Story 3',  Arts and Crafts…and the choices go on.

I have finalised this Blog as we sail somewhere off the Sunshine Coast.